nd Prix season, in the short program I dont thi - ...
Please login or register free to be able to post.
View forum:
nd Prix season, in the short program I dont thi
Started by
wff0605,
2015/01/19 09:13PM
Latest post: 2015/01/19 09:13PM, Views: 271, Posts: 1
Latest post: 2015/01/19 09:13PM, Views: 271, Posts: 1
wff0605
KLAHOMA CITY -- The streak is over. The series might only be beginning. Kevin Durant scored 22 points, Thabo Sefolosha set playoff career bests with 19 points and six steals, and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped San Antonios 20-game winning streak by beating the Spurs 102-82 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night. Oklahoma City closed its series deficit to 2-1 and will host Game 4 on Saturday night. "We never thought these guys had an advantage over us even though we had lost a few," Durant said. "It was just good that we took it to 2-1. We didnt want to go down 0-3." Sefolosha threw a wrench in the Spurs well-oiled offense at the start, getting four steals in the first 3 minutes. The Spurs ended up committing a postseason-worst 21 turnovers and scoring their fewest points all season. San Antonio had been averaging 109.4 points per game during its month-and-a-half winning streak and had been held to double-digits only twice. "We just played a good basketball game," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We played with a lot of force, we played with good energy, but we played defensive-minded basketball. "Thats who we are. Thats how we win." Tony Parker and Stephen Jackson led the Spurs with 16 points apiece. Tim Duncan had 11 points on 5 for 15 shooting, taking 11 of San Antonios first 25 shots as the offense went through the All-Star center instead of Parker. "They played like it was a closeout game, both offensively and defensively," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They were very active, physical; they moved the ball well on offense. They did all those things better than we did. They beat us good." The Spurs, who already set an NBA record for the longest winning streak carried over from the regular season into the playoffs, were trying to match the league mark for most wins to start the postseason. The Lakers won 11 straight to start the 1989 and 2001 playoffs, getting swept in the NBA Finals the first time and winning it all the second. The Spurs hadnt lost since April 11 at home against the Lakers. "We are a prideful team. Its no fun being down 0-2. Its no fun," Brooks said. "But we werent looking at the game thinking, Oh my gosh, we have a chance to be down 0-3. We were looking at the game that we have a chance to be 1-2 after this game, and I give our guys a lot of credit. They believe in each other and they always play hard for each other." Parker and Duncan didnt play in the final 15 minutes, and Popovich pulled the plug after a series of three straight turnovers allowed the deficit to reach 23 points early in the fourth quarter. Sefolosha had a right-handed dunk off a lob pass from Russell Westbrook, who followed with his own two-handed jam on an alley-oop pass, and Sefolosha followed with a reverse layup on another turnover-fueled fast-break chance to push the lead to 86-63 with 9:48 left. The Thunder put together another 9-0 run coinciding with Manu Ginobili coming out of the game and featuring Serge Ibaka sticking his tongue out after nailing a jumper from the top of the key. Brooks soon followed Popovich and pulled his own front-line players with the game well in hand. "Youre not going to beat this team by playing one-effort basketball," Brooks said. "Youre going to have to have two, three, four, even five. And they make you do that because they pass the ball so well, they spread the floor so well." Popovich said the Thunder played harder and smarter than the Spurs. "They did definitely play with a lot more energy, a lot more passion than us tonight," said Parker, who committed five turnovers. The Spurs wiped out a 24-point deficit in Game 3 against the Clippers in Los Angeles in the previous round, but they werent recovering in this one. San Antonio managed only 24 points in the paint after averaging 46 through the first two games of the series and 47.8 through the playoffs. Oklahoma City already held a 28-8 scoring edge in the paint while taking a 54-41 halftime lead, and it never got better for San Antonio, which couldnt get any closer than 11 points in the second half. "We wanted to bounce back after two losses like that. We had to play better and we did that tonight," Sefolosha said. "We played with energy; we played with passion in front of our home crowd. They did a great job giving us a lift." The Thunder scored the games first eight points, feeding off Sefoloshas steals, but San Antonio recovered in time to take the lead with more than 5 minutes left in the opening period. Oklahoma City took the lead early in the second quarter, and there was no looking back. Sefolosha set up Ibakas two-handed dunk and hit a 3-pointer during a 13-1 run, with San Antonios only point coming on a free throw by Ginobili after Durant was called for a technical foul while arguing a call from the bench. Oklahoma Citys lead ballooned to 15 when Kendrick Perkins grabbed Westbrooks air ball and dunked it with two hands. Notes: Duncan did have five blocks to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbars NBA playoff record of 476 by one. ... Rapper Lil Wayne tweeted before the game that he planned to attend but "was denied by the team to be in their arena." Thunder spokesman Dan Mahoney said the rappers representatives demanded front-row seats but none were available. "Wed love to have him at a game, but like anyone else, he needs a ticket," Mahoney said. ... Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin presented TNT analyst and former NBA All-Star Charles Barkley with a pair of boots, a steak and an order of lamb fries -- a dish that leaves the otherwise undesirable part of the anatomy out of its name -- during the pregame show. wholesale jerseys . Columbus lost its opener at D.C. United, 3-1, but Hesmer has been flawless in the last three weeks to lead the Crew (1-1-2) to two draws and a win. Dan Kennedy posted his first shutout of the season for Chivas (0-2-2), which is winless through four matches under new coach Robin Fraser. jerseys from china . Tougher. More resilient. Smarter. A team that opponents did not enjoy facing. BMO Field was to become a fortress. But turning around an MLS franchise synonymous with failure has proved to be like parallel parking a super-tanker. http://www.cheapjerseyssafe.com/ . "I want to sincerely thank Pierre Groulx for his contribution to the Canadiens organization over the past four years," said Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin in a statement. wholesale nfl jerseys . The New York Yankees lefty had his good stuff going on this dreary afternoon. cheap nfl jerseys . "I didnt really understand the magnitude of what it meant until that moment: skating out there in front of 19-20,000 people, flags flying everywhere," Nieuwendyk said. "It was a special feeling.COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Shaking off a poor morning practice session, world champion Patrick Chan nailed his mens free skate program on Friday to win the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. The Canadian from Toronto, also the 2009 winner, had a season-best 185.99 points to take the title with 273.94 points. "This whole week was a big test for me," Chan said. "It wasnt easy, and it wasnt like I just walked in and thought I was going to have it in the bag. Coming into the long (program), I was very unsure and very nervous -- more nervous than Ive been in this past year and a half. "But with the program, I just went with the flow. I knew that, if I just let things go, it would happen the way I wanted it to." Earlier, two-time world champion Mao Asada of Japan won the womens short program. Chan easily outpointed Japans Daisuke Takahashi, the Vancouver Olympics bronze medallist and defending Four Continents champion. Takahashi earned 161.74 points in the free skate and 244.33 overall. Takahashi was unable to stick to his program, turning a triple axel into a double early in his routine, but was still pleased with his showing. "I missed two jumps, and my performance was not so good, but I am still happy," Takahashi said. "Overall, my performance (for the competition) was not bad, but I have many points to improve. I just need to continue to practice and work hard." Chan spent the afternoon trying to settle his nerves by walking around downtown Colorado Springs -- the city where he trains -- and trying to regroup after a shaky morning practice. "This week, I learned a lot about not getting hung up on little things from practice or on feelings from off the ice," Chan said. "This mornings practice was great for me, actually. I needed the mistakes to kind of wake me up, get me back on my feet and remind myself that this is not a walk in the park." American Ross Miner, the 2012 U.S. bronze medallist , survived a fall in the free skate to post a season-best 146.34-point score and earn the bronze with 223.23 points. He narrowly edged compatriot Adam Ripponn, the 2012 U.ddddddddddddS. silver medallist and 2010 Four Continents champion, for a spot on the medal stand. Rippon had a season-best 146.63-point score to finish at 221.55. "The goal for me coming in was for a new seasons best," said Miner, who will sit out next months World Championships because the United States can only send two skaters to the event in Nice, France. "(Medaling) was just the cherry on the top, the icing on the cake. It wasnt actually my best performance, but my run-through and my coach running around and trying to murder me obviously paid off." In the womens short program, Asadas 4-minute routine was clean enough to earn a score of 64.25 points, just ahead of 2012 U.S. champion Ashley Wagner at 64.07. Japans Kanako Murakami, the 2010 World Junior champion, was third with 63.45 points. The only hitch to Asadas program came on her first jump, a triple axel rare for women, which she was unable to land cleanly. "My performance was good, except the triple axel in the beginning," Asada, who won the event in 2008 and 2010, said through an interpreter. "I want to take this as a learning experience and skate well tomorrow. My biggest goal of this competition is including the triple axel, and at least I tried it. It wasnt perfect, but Im pretty happy to land the triple axel." Asada, the 2010 Olympic silver medallist , wasnt the only member of her team who enjoyed the day. Her coach, figure skating Hall of Famer Nobuo Sato, will be honoured by U.S. Figure Skating at the World Arena before the mens free skate. Wagner wobbled a bit while landing her first triple flip-double toe loop combination, but still managed her highest short program score in international competition. "Im extremely pleased," Wagner said. "I had a wobbly triple loop in the warmup, so Im happy I did such a strong one in the performance. I think its the best Ive ever scored internationally, which for me is huge. "This whole Grand Prix season, in the short program I dont think I scored higher than 55. So, to up the ante by nine points I dont think is too shabby." cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
Please login or register free to be able to post.
- Links allowed: yes
- Allow HTML: no
- Allow BB code yes
- Allow youTube.com: yes
- Allow code: yes
- Links visible: no
- Quick reply: yes
- Post preview: yes